Today, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced the medical retirement of Fire Chief Jim Reynolds after 25 years of service at the City of Orlando. Mayor Dyer has appointed John Miller, a 22-year OFD fire veteran to succeed Reynolds as the new Chief of the Orlando Fire Department.
“Chief Jim Reynolds, a third generation firefighter, has a long and outstanding history with our fire department,” said Mayor Dyer. “He has provided strong leadership over the past three years as Fire Chief, leading the department to the top 1/10th of 1 percent of all fire departments in the nation with an ISO rating of 1.”
In addition, during his leadership, Chief Reynolds led the charge to place the first ever Heavy Rescue Unit (HR1) in the Orlando Fire Department, which equipped OFD to respond to highly technical specialty type rescue situations in addition to routine Fire and Emergency Medical Services. He also led the initiative to create an Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) for Central Florida, now known as Central Florida Task Force Four (CFTF4), a State of Florida Asset.
Effective immediately Assistant Chief John Miller is appointed by Mayor Dyer as Fire Chief to oversee the day-to-day operations of the department and provide counsel to the Mayor in matters of public safety and the maintenance of City fire protection.
During his 22-year tenure with the Orlando Fire Department (OFD), Miller has managed every division including Field Operations, Fire Safety Management, Communications, Training, Supply, Public Relations and EMS. Most recently, Miller was an integral part of OFD’s administration during a period of tremendous growth including the construction of six new fire stations, the first LEED-certified stations in Florida and the new state-of-the-art headquarters in Downtown Orlando.
“Chief Miller takes the reins during a challenging budget time, but I am confident that under Chief Miller’s strong leadership ability the Orlando Fire Department will continue to develop innovative approaches to meet the growing and changing needs of our City,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Having spent the majority of his career with OFD, he understands the high level of service expected by Orlando’s residents.”
Today, the Mayor also announced the appointment of District Chief Edwin Youman to serve as Deputy Chief. Youman, a 27-year veteran with more than 23 years with OFD, joins the rank of Deputy Chief alongside Gregory Hoggatt and John McCormack.
Youman will be responsible for the administrative bureau of OFD which includes planning and resource management, training and public relations.
Hoggatt will continue to provide oversight to the fire support services bureau which includes emergency medical services, communication and technology management and fire safety management.
And McCormack will continue to command the field operations bureau, responsible for the management of Orlando’s 17 firehouses.
The appointment of Chief Miller will go before the Orlando City Council on February 22, 2010 for confirmation.
